


Operation: Regulon

by Darst-Llah (Darst002)



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Adventure, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Gen, Genocide, Multi, Other, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-07
Updated: 2013-11-07
Packaged: 2017-12-31 18:38:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1035060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darst002/pseuds/Darst-Llah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Decepticons set to conquer autobots outpost on Regulon IV - a planet rich on natural energon, though not very hospitable. However, things don't go as planned</p>
            </blockquote>





	Operation: Regulon

0100 orn. Combined decepticon command center onboard decepticon warship up on Regulon IV orbit.

The fourth cycle of Decepticon forces trying to conquer Autobot outpost on the planet. So far they coulnd't set a foot on Regulon soil. Megatron was close to losing his patience. As frankly, all cons in this room already were.

"... and I was forced to fall back under the risk of losing half of aerial forces and still not being able to secure the foothold! My Liege, I have a reason to suspect the autobots had a way of knowing our strike at Regulon capital was a mocque one" - And Starscream scowled at Blitzwing who had been responsible for drawing the enemy fire.

"Really, Starscream? And what makes you think that?" - the warlord's voice was calm and collected, but weary irritation still seeped into it. Despite thorough and extensive planning, the stubborn planet refused to fall before the decepticon forces and for no phatomable reason. The longer it took the bigger the chances that autobot harrison would receive reinforcements.

"The fact that I got the entire wrecker's squad in the hills the moment we were within shot range from it? The same very wreckers that were supposed to be engaged elsewhere?" - and Starscream shot the blue-and yellow triple changer a venomous glance.

Blitzwing shrugged his shoulders "Couldn't have that many there, Starscream, they've been all over my guys. You must have misjudges their numbers" - if not for the tripplechanger's enormous patience, there probably would have been a fight right there, because this conversation was going a third circle already.

Megatron took litlle part in that, for basically they were all waiting for TIC with new data. Shockwave guessed that Megatron kept them all in here listening to Starscreams screech as a sort of punishment.

Shockwave's optics moved from Starscream and Blitzwing starting a fourth circle of accusing each other of being responsible for their latest operation failure. The scientist wasn't disturbed by being held off his current projects for too long by this meeting. Unbeknown to others in this room, he was running calculations on his processor and syncing with his working console three decks lower.

Megatron got up and turned his back to other officers, studying the schematics for Regulon defences - according to their best intel - once again.

Regulon wasn't a fortress by the definition of it, but the autobots made it as close to a fortress as they could. First off, the planet's surface was 79% liquid, and normally that would be a positive thing, had this liquid not been a solution of salts so dense that they would crystallyze on the protoforms within breems, immobilizing joints and circuits of anybot stupid enough to use seas as a landing option before they would reach the shore.  
Despite being chemically offensive, the seas had been the main reason why the decepticons needed to take the planet, for under these unwelcoming brown waters lay a generous reserve of natural liquid energon, quite similar to Cybertron's native lifesource. Having it here in liquified state made for easy and effortless mining.  
They needed that. And more importantly, they needed autobots to lose hold of such a valuable asset. It was misfortunate that autobots managed to settle here first. According to Soundwave's intel, autobot commander Strika, wrecker forces and Chrystal city refugees set foot on Regulon 30 stellar cycles ago - about time reguuli made their technological leap. It wouldn't be the first time an alien race would benefit from autobots brand style of "not meddling into natives business". Now, according to the energon readings they spotted, reguuli were refining energon and using it to feed all their machinery.

Autobots were sighted in the vicinity of Gloomey hills (precise location, size and manning unknown). It had been a vast and hard to recon area of dark brown hills with numerous caverns and natural cover; the bots also installed wide-range plasma cannons on the hills overlooking Alcra - reguuli's capital. The net of cannons ensured any con formation in the planet's atmosphere was within cannon's range cycles before they were within striking distance of Alcra.  
Megatron assumed a time-proven tactic of divide and conquer, deeming to force the locals to break their alliance with autobots and rat them out. If they couldn't attack Alcra from the skies, they should get underground to get to the capital under the bots nose, and it took Shockwave only a cycle to prepare driller assembly.

This cycle they had made the second attempt to bring down, assemble and launch the driller. Megatron would allow two more before he would order to wipe the stubborn city off the ground from the orbit. Sure, they needed resources and a ready energon refinery would be a benefit, but he'd rather destroy it if he couldn't have it.

And now the bots presumably had access to 'cons intel. Deep down Megatron doubted it had been the case - it was highly unlikely anybot would be able to hack Soundwave's encryption or sneak up to the orbit to spy at them in person.  
Besides, it wasn't like Strika to put high stakes on possible desinformation. Megatron had engaged this autobot general a couple of times already and she came accross as a femme repulsive of any ambiguity.

Finally the slider opened, letting Soundwave in. The spy took in the meeting, noting the way that some of his fellow officers didn't try to hide their boredom now that Megatron wasn't looking at them. Silently Soundwave took his seat.

Irritated that Megaron wouldn't support him and at the same time not riled enough to really pick at Blitzwing, Starscream turned his attention to the newcomer. "You're late" - he hissed in accusation.

Soundwave ignored him, choosing to send the warlord encrypted data burst. Ever since Megatron demoted the spy and promoted the aerial commander, Soundwave's treatment of Starscream was a valid indicator of whether Megatron was satisfied with the seeker's performance. He definitely wasn't now.

"Ah, Soundwave" - Megatron turned to face the meeting once again, - "kindly share with us what you have uncovered". The warlord was eyeing him intently and that was a sign of some heavy duty processing going on inside his helm. Soundwave had just briefed him on his findings, but the leader would restrain from voicing his thoughts until he heard his generals first.

Soundwave's visor lit up and everyone present switched their attention to it. There, on Soundwave's display they watched the aerial fight between Blitzwings's squad, a dozen of wreckers and reguuli ground forces. Starscream creeched, literally screeched with his dentas seeing that the triplechanger performed his task exactly as it was assigned to him: engage, draw fire, occupy the enemy for two orns. The enemy had been engaged and thoroughfully occupied. Octane was heavily injured in the fight and few more flyers suffered minor injuries but the bots had at least three offline, one blown to smitherens completely.

"What did I tell you? They were all on my thrusters"

"That cannot be!" - Starscream exclaimed, but he didn't have time to elaborate for Soundwave pinged them to attention and showed the record of Starscream's seekers unsuccessful attempt to secure a gound foothold. Again, a dozen of wreckers and reguuli aerial forces engaged but to an opposite outcome.

"It stands to logic to believe that autobots have more forces concentrated here than initial intel suggested" - Shockwave said and Soundwave tilted his visor toward him slightly. That could be taken as a doubt in his professional abilities, had it not come from Shockwave, who, Soundwave knew, merely stated what all others were thinking.

However, the spy wasn't done. He connected remotely to the nearest console and brought up snapshots from Blitzwing's mission - a mission he surveyed personally to convince autobots of this being indeed the main direction of their blow. He traced signature outlines of their enemy bots, when it was possible to trace them in Regulon less than transparent atmosphere and mayhem created by the battle itself.

As Soundwave called up profiles of autobots identified, names appeared: Roadbuster, Sandstorm, Wheeljack, Scoop, Whirl, Top Spin, TwinTwist, Kup, Bulkhead, Rotorstorm, Ironfist...

"It wonders me how bots supposedly dead by numerous reports of their deactivation wound up on this planet so much alive?" - Megatron addressed to no one in particular, but he was looking at Starscream, who responded immediately:

"Master, I assure you! I have witnessed Roadbuster's demise with my own optics and am absolutely sure of the rest of the reports!"

Astrotrain left out a barely audible "smirk" at that and murmured "he sure as slag is dead this time", but otherwise no one else responded. Soundwave stomped his ped lightly. He still wasn't done and required their attention.

Megatron nodded slightly, allowing him to go on.

A set of snapshots from Laserbeak's feed followed. Soundwave traced and identified the bots and a new list of names appeared: Roadbuster, Sandstorm, Wheeljack, Scoop, Whirl, Top Spin, TwinTwist, Kup, Bulkhead, Rotorstorm, Ironfist...

Astoned silence set. As if to deliver the final blow, Soundwave called up two snapshots featuring Roadbuster and zoomed in on time stamp: a few nanoclicks and an orn's flight distance separated the pictures.

"What the slag is going on on this rock?" - Astrotrain asked in whisper. In utter silence, as even everybody's vent fans seemed to stop spinning, the question sounded too loud. The shuttle appeared to shrink into himself.

Megatron let it slip.

"Is it... is it possible that this planet houses some kind of temporal anomaly that lets them.. do that?" Starscream adressed no one in particular, but he kept glancing at Shockwave.

Shockwave kept silent. Not because he was as lost as his comrades at this, but rather because he already knew the answer and switched back to his projects. If it took other officers more than 5 clicks to deduce the answer, he would be highly disappointed.

"Does that mean that I nearly lost one of my people for nothing today?" - Blitzwing spoke up slowly and softly and that deceptive calmness omened all kinds of hurt for the one presumably responsible for this. The triplechanger hated collateral damage. Especially if it didn't achieve anything measurable.

"Can it be reguuli trick?" - Starscream continued thinking aloud. This time Soundwave answered him: "Reguuli technical knowledge: insufficient for effective resistance" - slightly distorted Shockwave's voice sounded from the navy spy as he recited his recent conversation with the chief scientist.

Suddenly Megatron laughed.

"You find it funny, Master?!" - Starscream ignited immediately.

Megatron laughed, and they all were staring at him. Finaly the warlord calmed down enough to speak and he spoke just one word: "clones".


End file.
